Birth By Memories
by LuckiiBeckii
Summary: Aqua Ven and Terra remembering moments from their pasts, Some short, some sweet, some shocking. drabble-fics Aqua/Ven/Terra friendship
1. When Dawn Breaks

_Author's Note: I'm such a bad girl. I have another story in progress, but I've just fallen so in love with Birth By Sleep I had to get this out of my system. I like the whole Ven/Aqua/Terra thing always teetering on the brink of romance, but never quite getting there. I like traversing that edge, maybe tipping over once in a while, but usually the edge does it for me. And it's so obvious how much Aqua loves her boys and how loyal she is to them so I figured this type of thing wouldn't be too far from the truth. I intended for this to be a drabble series, delving into lost moments behind the scenes or before the story even started, AU of course, but with enough vagueness so that it can kind of be taken for canon. I haven't played the whole game yet, of course, I'm still on my first storyline (Aqua's, of course) so bear with me if I get little facts wrong. with that said, my first chapter here is spoiler-free, I will be putting warnings on later chapters as needed. Enjoy!_

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**When Dawn Breaks**

**I**

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It was half past 2 in the morning. She lay in bed, not even trying to sleep, just gazing up at the blank ceiling above her. Thoughts flew in and out of her mind like skittish birds, and she was unable to focus on any of them, a sign of how tired she was. But sleep refused to come. Sitting up slightly, she leaned her cheek against the cold wall of her small room, knowing his was directly beside it.

_I bet you're already lost in some sweet dream..._

She smiled slightly, rubbing a hand softly against the wall, as if it was his cheek. Her little Ven. Always so energetic and optimistic. He had an air about him that made everyone around want to protect him. He was like the light personified. The light they all fought for, the light they fought with.

She jerked her head away from the wall and her thoughts when she heard a light knocking at her door. Swiping the covers away and readjusting her nightgown, she padded on bare feet to the entrance, opening the door just a crack. She kept one hand slack and empty, anticipating her Keyblade if necessary.

"Who is it? Do you know what time it is?" she snapped. Neither Ven nor Terra should be up at this hour. It wasn't healthy.

"It's just me. I'm sorry to bother you, Aqua, but I...I couldn't sleep and I thought-" Ven's bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle in the darkness. He looked so small and helpless, standing there in his leisure shorts and t-shirt, blonde hair ruffled with his attempt at rest. She smiled sympathetically and opened the door wider.

"Come in. I'm having a little trouble sleeping myself. Must be the night air. A bit chilly for this time of year, isn't it?"

"Mmm." Ven nodded in agreement, hugging his own arms for emphasis. He looked around her room curiously, and she realized a bit too late that he'd never been in here before, let alone at night.

She debated renigging on her kindness and sending him back to bed, but sighed and followed him in after closing the door silently. She hadn't the heart to do that.

"Your room's nicer then mine." he commented playfully, still hugging himself in the night chill. She took in the simple furnishings. a tall bookcase filled with books on philosophy, astronomy, magic, and a few on combat tactics she'd snitched from Terra and Master Eraqus's own personal collections, just to round out her self-education. She blushed a bit at the thought of snitching them. Beyond that was a white wardrobe, holding the few outfits she was permitted to own while in training, and beside it a small vanity table, with a mirror and a well-worn brush. Her bed was the standard issue, but pushed against the side wall instead of underneath her window, like Ven's was. Instead, she had a desk under the window, covered with bits of paper and some rough drawings. She dabbled in storytelling and crafts now and then, nothing she'd share with the others. She was constantly afraid of coming off "too girly".

"I think yours is nicer." she countered, remembering all the little knick knacks he had around in his.

Ven was starting towards her desk and she reached out to stop him, but she was too late. "What's all this?" he asked softly, paging through her sketches. he stopped at one of her earlier ones. It was a childishly simple drawing of herself, Ven and Terra when they'd first started training under Eraqus.

"It's nothing, just some...stuff." she quickly started piling the papers up and shoving them away into the desk, but Ven kept hold of the sketch. His fingers gently traced the characters. She'd drawn him in the front, smiling, as always. She was a little behind him, with a hand on his shoulder in support. Terra was next to her, arms crossed. "These aren't just stuff, Aqua. these are really good! You're an artist!"

"Not really, I just like to draw people and things I like." she lifted up another sketch of master Eraqus. The proportions were off, but she'd managed to capture the man's serious gaze. She'd emphasized his hairstyle and the tuft of black hair stuck out around his head like a storm cloud. Ven couldn't help but giggle. She laughed too, just because she knew the drawing was a silly one, drawn one day when she'd been a bit less then pleased with the Master, after he'd called her out during a training session for bad form. Her drawings and writings were really her only way to let out her feelings. She'd never let anyone see them before.

Feeling a bit self conscious she looked Ven in the eyes. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay? Not even Terra. No one else knows I do this. It'll be our secret."

Ven's smile faded away and he nodded resolutely. "Of course. But...I'm just curious as to why you don't want everyone else to know how good you are. the Master always tells us to be proud of our talents and strengths."

Aqua shook her head and smiled weakly at her best friend in the whole world. "I really don't think the Master was talking about drawing, Ven." she took the rest of the papers and put them away. Ven made to give her the drawing he'd held onto, but she shook her head. "You can keep that, so you can remember our secret. And our friendship." Ven nodded and pressed the drawing to his heart before pulling it away and studying it again.

"Thank you, Aqua..." he said quietly, his eyes going misty. She draped an arm around his shoulders comfortingly.

"No, thank you, Ven. for being such a good friend." she smiled and ruffled his hair playfully. They both laughed. But then, something caught Aqua's eye.

"Look. It's the sky before dawn breaks. I've never seen it while I've lived here before...the colors are so nice."

Ven turned and took in the astounding sight of night just before morning began. The stars were still lit, but the sky behind them was tinged with pinks and purples in between the darkest blue.

"Wow...it's so beautiful..." he put the picture down and leaned up against the window with both hands, like a little kid looking at a thunderstorm. Aqua felt such overwhelming love in her heart at that moment, such gratitude for the luck that had given her Ventus and Terra.

"There's supposed to be a meteor shower one night next week, if my new almanac's to be believed." she commented offhandedly, joining Ven by the window, pressing her hands against the cold glass.

"Really? Like, falling stars?"

"Yup! a bunch of 'em all at once. It's something else. If you're up late and catch it, that is."

"Oh." Ven's face grew thoughtful. "If I do, want to come outside and watch it with me? Terra too!"

Aqua sighed and sat on her bed, her fatigue finally catching up with her as she held her head and her eyes fluttered.

"I don't know, Ven. I haven't been sleeping too well lately, and staying up late to watch a meteor shower won't help."

She didn't tell him why she was having trouble. She didn't want to bother such an innocent soul with the burdens of her nightmares. But they were always so vivid and real...

Something dark was coming. Bad things were supposed to happen. And she was going to lose everything...

"I'm sorry...Maybe I should go? Let you rest."

Ven made to leave, clutching the drawing in his left hand, but as he passed her, Aqua's hand shot out and took his wrist. She seemed to be having trouble articulating what she wanted.

"No...I...Do you think...would it be alright if you stayed here with me? Just for tonight. I feel like...I'll sleep better...knowing you're here."

Ven's face was clouded with doubt. He was probably thinking through all the things that were wrong with her request, what Terra and the Master would say come morning drills, finding him in here with her, and all the implications it would begin. But seeing how sad her eyes were, how sincere her question was, and the warmth of her hand on his wrist...

"Alright...I guess one night wouldn't hurt. Might be fun!"

Aqua immediately went about making the floor beside her bed as comfortable as possible, piling up all her spare blankets and quilts into a soft mattress and giving him her downiest pillow.

"All comfy?" she asked sleepily once he'd flopped onto the makeshift bed. He didn't answer, simply gave her a thumbs up and a contented smile. with a giggle she swooped down and gave him a swift kiss on the forehead, then lay down.

"Good night, Ven."

"Good night, Aqua."

"Sweet Dreams."

"Sweet Dreams."

Aqua lay there for a while, just watching Ven sleep, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the easy way his eyes roamed about behind his eyelids in dreams. One of his arms was leaning up against her bedframe, and his hand was raised towards her. She gently took it, so as not to wake him, and gave it a soft squeeze. Remarkably, he returned the squeeze and smiled, still asleep, then turned over, away from her. She withdrew her hand and finally allowed her eyes to close.

_I never want to lose this. Lose him...lose us...I will never allow it. I'd die first...  
_

and as she lost herself within her haunting nightmares and shallow sleep, dawn broke.


	2. And Wind Blows

_Author's Note: Enjoy!_

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**And Wind Blows**

**II**

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"Ven? Ven! VEN! quit waving that thing around, you're gonna put someone's eye out!" Terra grabbed the training keyblade by it's blade and wrenched it down, before it could do some serious damage. Ven let go of the hilt instinctively, so Terra's abrupt move didn't twist his wrist.

"Good. at least you're fast. Seems to be the only thing going for you." Terra said a bit snippily as he gave the younger boy back his blade. Ven took the wooden toy back, eyes downcast. It seemed like he could never please Terra sometimes.

"What were you trying to do, anyway?" Terra couldn't keep the edge of curiosity out of his voice.

"A new combo move. I see you using them all the time so I figured I'd try and do my own. You always start on the ground and progress to a launching strike, so I thought maybe I'd do the opposite."

"Start with the launch and whale 'em while they're airborne...smart...very smart..."

Ven's eyes lit up. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. Not like I haven't thought of it before or anything, I just think it's an awkward way to fight."

"But-but it takes advantage of the enemy's inability to counter while they're in the air! it's way better then your way! You're just jealous I thought of it first! A little pipsqueak like me!"

"Me? Jealous of you? Keep dreamin'!" Terra unsheathed his own keyblade, while Ven threw his training one aside and conjured up his own, holding it in that awkward backwards grip of his.

"BOYS!" Aqua came running out from the Castle, her arms flailing at them to stop. She hated it when they fought.

"Come to watch me spar? I'm gonna win, y'know. Just for you Aqua." Ven grit his teeth and dug his feet into the ground, staring Terra down.

"You're a cocky little thing aren't you? Definitely don't get that from me-" Terra chuckled, entering his ready stance.

"Come on! What did Master Eraqus say about sparring before dinner?" Aqua pleaded, looking first at Terra, then quickly realizing that was a lost cause, set her plaintive gaze on Ven.

"She's looking at you, kid." Terra mumbled so Aqua wouldn't hear. Ven's heart sped up. "So?" he bit back between clenched teeth.

Terra didn't need to say anything else. Ven's steely stare wavered, and finally he had to turn aside and meet Aqua's eyes. Immediately he quit his ready stance and sulked.

"I know, I know. Did you have to use the puppy eyes? Really?" he scratched the back of his head bashfully. Aqua smiled.

"I knew you'd listen! You're just a lost cause Terra." she smirked and punched Terra playfully on the arm before beckoning to Ven to come back inside for dinner. "Ow." he cried belatedly, rubbing his arm where'd she'd made contact. She'd always been a bit of an enigma to him. He knew how much she cared about the both of them, but she always seemed hesitant to show him as much care as she did Ven. Maybe it was because he was older and she thought he needed less babying.

But truth was...he liked the attention. He kind of wanted it. And it was the only reason he messed with Ven so much. Because he knew it would get to her. Force her to see both of them instead of just Ven this and Ven that.

Master Eraqus had told him countless times not to let Aqua's gender distract him from treating her like an equal in battle. But he couldn't help the natural bias. And he definitely couldn't help the way he felt about her.

Ven was like his protege, a mini-Terra in the making, if he could stomp out all that happy-go-lucky nonsense and get him down to the real fundamentals. If only. But Aqua...Aqua already had a definition. She had a set path, a set purpose. There was no swaying her determination. She wanted to be a Master. She wanted to help people. That's why she fought. It confused the hell out of him...and intrigued him as well.

"TERRA! ARE YOU COMING TO EAT OR CAN WE START WITHOUT YOU?" she hollered from the foyer of the castle, her high, kind voice grating and large thanks to the echo, probably amplified by her magic. Cheeky thing.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he sprinted up to the castle at full speed, smiling when he realized she wasn't moving. Her feet were braced against the floor.

He met her Barrier full speed, and noticed a tiny crack appear in the hexagonal shield. She gasped and fell back, holding her arm and letting the barrier dissipate.

"You've been training at night again, haven't you." She said quietly, rubbing her elbow through the fabric of her long sleeve. he ignored her question, which had been more of an accusation anyway.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'll go easy next time." Aqua bristled. She hated when people belittled her strength. She wasn't the best physically, but her skills in magic overpowered everything else. She had even out-thought the Master in a few of his own skill tests. She turned away and let her arm fall back to her side, biting back the pain and going through the door to the dining hall without a backward glance.

Terra sighed and followed slightly behind. All he ever managed to do was to make her angry. All he really wanted to do was to make her proud of him.

"hey Terra!" Ven waved from his seat, his cheek bulging with food like a blonde hamster. "They made your favorite! Chicken Parmesan!"

Terra slid a bit shamefully into his seat next to Ven and started in on his lukewarm food. Aqua was primly eating hers across the way. Their eyes never once met, and silence reigned for a good 30 seconds.

"Okay, what is it this time?" Ven finally asked to break the silence. Eraqus was in a heated debate with Master Xehanort and wasn't paying his apprentices any mind.

"What is it what time?" Terra replied, chewing his chicken methodically and occasionally looking up at Aqua. She was frowning over the food.

"C'mon guys. I can tell when something's wrong. You're no good at hiding it." Ven pouted. He hated being left out of the loop because he was "too young to understand." Aqua was usually the one guilty for leaving him out, but Terra had done it on a few occasions as well.

"It's nothing. Terra just likes to pretend he's better then me, that's all." Aqua shrugged, but made it a point not to look at either of them.

Ven clearly didn't understand, otherwise, he would've kept his mouth shut. "But that's not true! Terra wouldn't do something that stupid."

Terra's heart leapt to his throat. Aqua was glaring at Ven. "Well then obviously you don't know him as well as you think you do." and with that, she slid the chair noisily away from the table and left, her food only half eaten. Ven watched her go, mouth agape.

"Dude. I've never seen her that angry before. What did you DO?"

Terra shrugged. "I cracked her Barrier a little after I ran up full speed from the Common. She got a little upset."

Ven didn't answer, so Terra turned to study the boy's reaction, only to get a hand held up to his face. "THAT'S SO AWESOME! High Five!" Terra couldn't help but laugh at the boy's reaction and gave him a soft high five with his fist. But he still couldn't banish the guilt he felt eating away at him. He stared at the staircase Aqua had retreated by a bit regretfully. "Maybe I should go try and apologize again..." he mumbled. Ven didn't answer, lost once more in his dinner. That boy was small, but he could put it away like nobody's business. Terra patted his head, smirking faintly as he went up the stairs after Aqua.

"Terra? Might I ask where you're going?" Master Eraqus had noticed him get up. gritting his teeth, he turned back around and faced him. "I was going to ask Aqua something, sir."

"Are you finished with your meal then?"

"Yes Sir."

"Very well. Don't be too long. I must tell you all some things about the Test for Mastery that is coming up in a few months."

Terra nodded and bowed before retreating up the stairs. It didn't take him long to find the tower corridor that held all their rooms. Ven's was on the end, nearest the castle, and probably the most insulated from the wind and hard weather. Aqua's room was beside it, on the lee side of the tower, facing out over the Common and the Abyss. She always had a beautiful view of the night sky for her astronomy. And his was last, across the hall from Ven's beside Aqua's. He had a partial view of the sky, but more importantly, a clear jumping distance away from a ledge on the castle wall, which he frequently used to sneak out to the library or to train in one of the lower rooms at night.

He knocked gently on Aqua's door. His keen ears caught a long sniffle before a body rose off the bed inside and came to the door.

"Who is it."

"It's me. Aqua, listen, I'm sorry about before. I was being really stupid and I apologize. It won't happen again."

The sniffle again. It nearly broke his heart. But she refused to open the door any wider. All he could see was a sliver of her beautiful face and a soft blue eye.

"Did the Master put you up to this?"

"No, I swear. It's all me."

She whispered something he couldn't hear.

"I'm sorry? speak up I can't hear you." he put his hand lightly on the door and started to push it in. She allowed this, and slowly her entire face and body appeared. Her eyes were shiny, but not red, which told him she'd been about to cry.

"I forgive you, I said."

"Oh."

Silence. Terra awkwardly studied the plane stone doorframe. "Soo...are we okay now?"

"Mm. I think so."

"Good. I guess I should..."

One more sniffle. That did it. Terra shoved the door all the way open and bent slightly to envelope the shorter girl into a quick embrace. He tried to communicate all the love he felt for her in that brief moment of contact before he let go, so she wouldn't misconstrue his intentions. She'd been about to put her arms around him when he pulled away, and he suddenly regretted doing so so quickly.

"I'm sorry...that was stupid-I-I'll leave you alone now-I just wanted to make sure you were alright. So bye then. Oh, and the Master wants to see us later. So see you downstairs." He was gone before she could respond. Aqua sighed and rested a hand over her heart. "...Terra..." she murmured softly before going back into her room.

He still didn't know what had come over him. Walking back down the narrow staircase back downstairs he leaned a hand on the wall for stability. Were his legs shaking? It was crazy what love could do to a great big strong warrior like him. But then he heard footsteps coming up and he froze up, trying to look as normal as possible. There was no slowing his rampaging heart, however. He prayed no one heard it's beating.

"Hey Terra! I was just coming up to get you guys. Master Eraqus is waiting." Ven had run up and met him on the stairs, his eyes bright and hopeful as always.

"Right. I'll go down and meet him. you go get Aqua."

"You patch stuff up with her then?" Terra gave a small smile. "Yeah. Go on." he gave Ven a push up the stairs and the boy was off. Just then a gentle breeze blew in from one of the tower staircase's open window slits. It managed to calm Terra down and allowed him to collect his thoughts. It also smelled vaguely familiar...like daylilies and seawater.

_Funny...it wasn't windy today..._

Not giving it much thought he went downstairs to meet the Master. Above, in her room, Aqua stifled a giggle.


End file.
